Sunday, May 31, 2009

I've begun making another "Mr. Winkle". He seems to be the most popular character I make, so I'll always include him in the group I'm working on.

Wherever I apply Magic-Sculpt, I drill holes and/or indentations at various angles to anchor the Magic-Sculpt. In the case of Mr. Winkle, he gets a turkey neck, a new nose bridge, wrinkled forehead, bald pate, upper lip frown, bigger earlobes and jowls. About the only things left showing on the Charlie head will be the cheeks, nostrils, part of the ears and the rest of the neck.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

I'm back home after spending 5 days in Newport Beach, California visiting my brother's family. We had three birthdays to celebrate... my niece's 17th, my other niece's 1st and my 60th. My brother and sister-n-law threw three parities and we all had a wonderful time. I'm spending the day at home recuperating from all of the food, wine and travel.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

I've had a bumpy ride the last two Ebay auctions. Sparky was returned because he frightened little kids. Now Mr. Winkle is looking for a new home because the winning bidder was unable to pay.

Fortunately, Sparky ("Chispazo" in Espanol) has found a new home in Spain. Guess he'd better learn more than his name in Spanish. Mr. Winkle is still in limbo as he makes his way through the Second Chance Offer process. If he doesn't get snapped up by any of the reasonable back-up bids, I'll relist him. (The longer he sits in my workshop, the crankier he gets.)

Meanwhile I'm close to finishing two more fellas. We're still a couple of weeks away from our debut, but I'm pleased with their progress so far.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

I'm embarrassed to say I'm experiencing my first return. The kindergartners in Oklahoma thought Sparky was too scary. Not that I blame them. I remember how much the flying monkeys frightened me in "The Wizard Of Oz".

He'll be up for sale again soon. (However flying is not one of Sparky's animations.)

Saturday, May 09, 2009

I don't think the foam padding glued to the charlie head was all that helpful in the case of the head in the "911" photo. However, I've used smaller, more precisely-cut foam strips in strategic spots on another figure. That seems to work much better. The foam takes up space otherwise filled with Magic-Sculpt and thus lightens the weight. I'll keep experimenting.

I've also come up with a nose-building idea using coat hanger wire frames and stryrofoam as a base. I'll show you if and when I've done one.

Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Sparky is on the way to Oklahoma. It feels right to be sending one of my little fellas to the heartland since that's where my grandmother and great-grandmother were from. Family legend has it that my great-grandmother traveled from Oklahoma to California in a covered wagon.

Saturday, May 02, 2009

I've actually used a plastic nose from a pair of Groucho-style nose-and-glasses on a previous figure. Uncle Morty sports the "attachment". In his case, I didn't trim off the bridge as I did on the most recent experiment. I glued the nose with a clear epoxy the first time, then put Magic-Sculpt around it. I think it worked pretty well.

This time I hot-glued the lower portion of the nose and have a section of foam on the bridge, which will be covered with a thin-as-possible layer of Magic-Sculpt. But I just wanted to show that using "false noses" can work well.

By the way, Uncle Morty was the first figure in which I used Dracula teeth with the fangs trimmed off for his upper teeth. That also worked really well.

Friday, May 01, 2009

This Charlie head looks like it's been in an auto accident or worse. (And it may end up worse, too). Actually, I've hot-glued foam sheeting from the craft store onto his face. I'll put Magic-Sculpt over it. The idea is to get bulk with less weight (on the assumption that foam weighs less than Magic-Sculpt).

The lower part of the nose is actually a plastic nose from a pair of Groucho nose-and-glasses. I trimmed off the bridge.

Now, this could all end up being one of my colossal failures. But hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained.